Welted boot or shoe



(No Model.)

M. Ll KEITH. WELTBD BOOT 0R SHOE.

No. 442,897. 'Patented Deo. 16,1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MYRON L. KEITH, OF BROCKTON, I\IASSAGIIUSE'I"`S.

WELTED BOOT OR SHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent N0. 442,897, dated December 16, 1890.

Application tiled Septemlienl, 1890. Serial No. 365.240. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.-

-e it known that I, MYRO L. KEITH, of Brockton, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in IVelted Boots or Shoes, of which the following is a specication.

Thisinvention has for its object to strengthen and stiffen the feather-edge of the inner sole of a welted boot o1' shoe without making it undesirably thick and bulky, so that said edge, although made so thin that its bulk is not objectionable, will at the same time possess such a degree of strength and stiffness that it will not be bent or curled upwardly by the pressure of the upper of the boot or shoe upon it.

To this end the invention consists in a welted boot or shoe the inner sole of which has a stay-piece of thin and strong cloth or thin strip ot leather cemented to its feather-edge, which is the thin lip formed by cutting horizontally into the edge of the sole to form the ilange or lip to which the upper and welt are attached. Said stay-piece strengthens and stiffens the feather-edge, so that it is not bent or curled by the pressure of the upper upon it, as I will now proceed to describe.

In the accompanying` drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure l represents a transverse section of an inner sole having a stay-piece attached to its feather-edge. Fig. 2 represents a transverse section of theinner sole, upper, and welt stitched together before the application ofthe outer sole. Fig. 3 represents a transverse section of the completed boot or shoe, the outer sole being attached to the welt.

'The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In the drawings, a represents the inner sole of a welted boot or shoe, the edge of which is cut or slit horizontally to divide it into two parts, one of which is the feather-edge b, on which a portion of the upper c bears, while the other is the lip b', Figs. l and 2, which is turned outwardly from the side of the sole to form a shoulder to support the edge of the upper and to receive the stitches e, which unite the welt d and upper c to the inner sole in the usual way, said lip h being trimmed off, as shown in Fig. 3, after the welt and upper have `been attached to the inner sole, to

permit the application of the outer sole .5' to the welt. It will be seen by reference to Figs. 2 and 3 that the upper bears against the entire width of the feather-edge, and is bent over the outer edge thereof,so that the pressure of the upper on the feather-edge is liable to bend or curl the feather-edge upwardly. Heretofore the only way of preventing this bending of the feather-edge has been by making it so thick that it will possess the necessary resistance; but this involves making the inner sole correspondingly thick and more bulky than is desirable.

In carrying out my invention I give the feather-edge the necessary stiffness and resistance to the bending pressure of the upper without increasing the thickness of the inner sole by cementiug to the side of the featheredge on which the upper bears a stay-piece g oi' any suitable cloth or thin strip of leather, said piece extending entirely across the featheredge and over enough of the lip b' to receive the stitches e that unite the welt and upper to the inner sole. The stay-piece is held in place by the said stitches and by the cement that secures it to the feather-edge, and it gives the feather-edge sufficient stiffness to enable it to resist the pressure of the upper against it. By this improvement I am enabled to use a thin inner sole, which is very desirable in this class of boots, and at the same time preserve the shape of the upper by preventing the feather-edge of the inner sole from yielding.

I claim- In a welted boot or shoe, the combination, with the welt, the upper, the inner sole having the feather-edge o and lip b', and the outer sole, of the stay-piece g, extending across the upper supporting-surface of the feather-edge of the inner sole and united thereto both by cement and by the stitches that connect the welt and upper to the inner sole, said sta-ypiece stiffeuin g the feather-edge and preventing it from yielding to the pressure exerted upon it by the upper, as set fort-h.

IOO 

